


a university is a city in space

by ianthan (jedikhaleesi)



Series: deb(d)ate [3]
Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Class Differences, M/M, Miscommunication, ft. the fett family, lowkey don't feel great about this but i'm putting it out here anyawys, the college process can be highkey toxic, waxer and boil are dogs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-08
Updated: 2018-08-08
Packaged: 2019-06-23 17:48:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,367
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15611667
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jedikhaleesi/pseuds/ianthan
Summary: In which Cody is the King of Lies By Omission and wrecks his father's dreams for himself and his fledgling relationship with Obi-Wan by not telling anyone that he wants to attend the Galactic Military Academy at Kamino.Debate isn't featured here, but it's set in the same 'verse.Not fun or funny like the other fics in this series :(





	a university is a city in space

**Author's Note:**

> I know this isn't a funny or particularly fun fic, but it was something I needed to get out of my system. Fun fics returning soon!
> 
> Kamino is essentially West Point, adapted for my own purposes. I have no idea how the admissions process works for it (which is why it's adapted, LOL).

Cody opened the mailbox and was surprised to find two large white envelopes inside. “Who are these for?” he asked, and received no answer. He looked around and found that his brothers had already entered the house, leaving him to take in the trash cans and get the mail by himself. Typical.

When he saw the stamp of ‘Galactic Military Academy’ on the back of one of the envelopes, he dropped his water bottle into the street and then was extremely grateful that he was alone. His heart flew into his throat.

The other envelope was from Concord Dawn College, a traditionally Mandalorian college his dad had attended. For two years, his dad had been harping on its advantages, and this fall, Jango had declared,  It’s the best college in the country. You’re applying there.” His dad had claimed that his status as an alumnus would be enough to get Cody in. He opened that one first, hoping against hope that his father was wrong and that he would be rejected.

It was an acceptance letter. Numbly, Cody shoved it back into the envelope. Was there a way he could hide this from his father? Probably not. Well, time to open the envelope he really cared about. 

It was also an acceptance letter. He allowed a smile to spread over his face. He had been dreaming of Kamino for years, and in his hands he held proof of that dream fulfilled.

“Cody!” The house door banged open, and he spun abruptly from the street to face Fives. His brother was hanging off the door and looking at him expectantly. “Come on! What’s taking you so long?”

“Hauling in the trash cans by myself,” he mustered feebly, shoving the envelopes underneath his arm. “Is Dad in his study?”

“Yeah.” Fives disappeared into the house, apparently satisfied.

Cody would need to talk to him, then. Best to do it while his brothers were corralled in the kitchen in the pursuit of food. He picked up his water bottle from where it had rolled into the street, waved to his neighbor’s young daughter, and traipsed inside. Fives and Echo were yelling at each other in the kitchen and Rex was yelling at them. Cody set down his backpack next to a bemused Boba, ruffled his youngest brother’s hair, and climbed the stairs.

Upstairs, the door to Jango’s study was closed. He rapped on it three times. “Dad?” he called. “It’s Cody.”

“Come in,” he heard through the door.

He pushed it open. His father was sitting behind his desk, typing furiously on a computer, and didn’t acknowledge his entrance. Cody settled awkwardly into the chair across from his father.

“What is it?” Jango asked. His eyes were still focused on his computer screen.

Cody swallowed nervously. “I got into the Galactic Military Academy at Kamino,” he said, placing his acceptance letter on the desk.

His father picked up the letter, scanned it briefly, and put it back down. “Good job, son.” He returned his attention to the computer screen.

Cody tried not to let his shoulders slump. He knew Jango didn’t care for the GAR. It had been a fight even to apply to Kamino in the first place. He had been hoping that in the interim between submitting his application and receiving his decision, his father’s feelings would have changed. Unsurprisingly, they hadn’t.

“I also got into Concord Dawn,” he offered.

That got Jango’s attention immediately. His father stopped typing and turned to face him fully. With those words, his face had transformed from indifference into eagerness. “You got in?” he demanded. “Show me your acceptance letter!”

He handed over the other letter, which was practically snatched from his hands. Jango read it once, then again, and one more time, his expression gradually suffusing with more and more joy. After the third reading, he burst from his chair and came around the desk. Cody was swept up in a forceful hug.

“Congratulations, son,” his father said. “I’m so proud of you.”

Cody hugged him back and allowed himself to pretend that Jango was also proud of his acceptance to Kamino. 

His father stepped away but kept one hand on his shoulder. Cody couldn’t remember him ever being smiling for so long. “Concord Dawn will be good for you,” Jango said. “It was a great place for me.” His gaze was so full of pride that it almost hurt to be its subject. “I’m really proud of you, Cody.”

“Thanks, Dad,” he returned weakly. Jango threw an arm around his shoulders and dragged him out the door, yelling, “Boys! Your brother just received his acceptance letter from Concord Dawn!”

Cody let himself be dragged along, ignoring the sinking feeling in his stomach.

* * *

“Hello, Cody.” Mace Windu, the private college counselor Jango had gotten him and hated intensely, waved him into his office.

“Hi, Mr. Windu.” He sat down in the chair in front of Mr. Windu’s desk in a startlingly similar replay of three days ago. Like three days ago, he was facing down an authority figure whom he desperately wished to receive approval from. Like three days ago, he was hoping that his college acceptances would merit approval.

“So.” Mr. Windu steepled his fingers and looked at him expectantly. “Both Kamino and Concord Dawn released their admissions decisions last Friday.”

“Yeah.” He shifted in his seat, uncomfortable under Mr. Windu’s piercing gaze. “I got into Kamino.”  
“Wonderful!” Mr. Windu unleashed a smile that seemed very out of place on his normally stern face. Cody smiled back, very small. “Congratulations. And what about Concord Dawn?”

Cody’s eyes slid to the side and settled on the bookshelves against the wall. “I got in,” he answered, unable to hold back his disappointment.

Mr. Windu noticed immediately. “I thought Concord Dawn was your first choice?” he asked.

“It’s my dad’s first choice,” Cody burst out. He braved a glance at his counselor, who was now frowning. “I don’t- I was hoping they’d reject me.” He looked down at his hands, ashamed. If Jango knew how he truly felt about Concord Dawn, he would be extremely disappointed. Cody wasn’t sure he could take that disappointment.

Silence stretched out between the two of them. Finally, Mr. Windu said, as though he were calming a frightened child, “This is a conversation you need to have with your father. I can’t do this for you, Cody. Only you can tell him that you don’t want to go to Concord Dawn.”

“I don’t know how,” Cody admitted, weaving and unweaving his fingers nervously. “This is his dream for me.” He met Mr. Windu’s gaze, trying to convey everything he felt.  _ I’m his eldest child. Before I was born he was dreaming of a life for me, and that life included Concord Dawn. I’m not sure I can stray from that life. _

“This is your choice, not his. Remember that.”

He nodded. He knew that, but didn’t quite understand it. He wanted Kamino badly, though, and to get there he would need to convince his father to see it as he did. He decided to use his hour with Mr. Windu as best he could. Looking back down at his hands, he asked, “Can you help me come up with reasons to convince my dad that I should go to Kamino?”

“Of course.” Mr. Windu leaned back in his chair, temporarily satisfied. He pulled up a Word document on his computer and turned the screen so they could both see it. “Now, when you and your father first came into my office, he mentioned that cost was a priority for your family. Is that still true?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, the GAR will cover all your expenses, so Kamino is pretty much free.” Mr. Windu watched as Cody typed ‘tuition costs completely covered’ underneath the heading ‘Kamino’. “Have you looked at your financial award from Concord Dawn?”

“No.” Cody pulled out his acceptance letter and looked it over again. “They gave me a five thousand-dollar merit scholarship and offered me twenty thousand dollars for financial aid.” He frowned, did some calculations. “But that means the total costs are still over fifty-five thousand dollars.” Jango tried to hide their financial situation from his children, but he had started asking Cody for help some years ago with filing the bills and keeping track of the deadlines. So Cody knew that his father couldn’t afford Concord Dawn. “I would need to take on student loans.”

Mr. Windu didn’t react to the panic that must have been showing on Cody’s face. He turned the keyboard towards himself and typed, ‘To fully cover costs, loans required’, under ‘Concord Dawn’. “Let’s talk about academics,” he suggested, and from there the conversation moved on to a discussion of the merits of Kamino’s mechanical engineering program.

At the end of the hour, Cody had a list comparing Kamino and Concord Dawn. He felt marginally more prepared to confront his dad, and told Mr. Windu so.

“Good,” his counselor said. “Cody, one more thing before you go.”

“Yeah, sure. What is it.”

“Your father hasn’t paid the February bill yet.” 

Cody froze. He remembered getting that bill in the mail. He remembered Jango promising him that it had been paid, and that he didn’t need Cody’s paycheck from the store. He remembered spending that paycheck on new soccer cleats for Echo, because the old ones had been falling apart. He also remembered the envelope lying at the bottom of the recycling bin two weeks ago. 

“Do you know if he received it?”

“Um.” Blood rushed to his face, and a deep shame suddenly filled him. “I’m sorry, Mr. Windu. I thought he paid it.”

Mr. Windu’s expression was too sympathetic, too understanding, and in that moment Cody hated him. He hated being pitied for this. He got enough pity from the well-off class kids at Mandalore who looked at his brothers’ hand-me-downs and at their crappy used car with disdain behind his back and told him to his face that they were sorry. He was sorry, too. Sorry that Jango’s employers didn’t pay him enough, that his job at the grocery store didn’t help as much as he would have liked, and sorry that he couldn’t walk the halls of Mandalore Prep with the confidence that financial security seemed to give you.

“I’ll ask him about it tonight,” he promised (lied), and fled from Mr. Windu’s office.

* * *

Cody really liked Obi-Wan and Padmé as people. He had been friends with them verging on three years now, and the only reason he would have put up with them for so long was because they were likeable. Sometimes, though, he realized how out of touch with his reality they were.

Padmé had strolled into the diner wearing her University of Coruscant School of Foreign Service sweatshirt, and Obi-Wan had followed in a Jedi University hoodie. Having both applied Early Decision, they had known where they were going for months now. Cody envied them the financial freedom of applying to colleges ED. It took confidence that you would be able to pay the costs of your college if they didn’t give you enough aid.

“Haven’t decided yet?” was the first thing that came out of Padmé’s mouth. God, she was so nice, but talking to debate people reminded him how closely the circuit focused on college. Many people did debate to pad their college resumes. Obviously the ones at the top, like Padmé and Obi-Wan, genuinely loved it, but that couldn’t be said for the circuit as a whole. Even if you loved debate as something separate from college, people still had their eagle eyes out for the latter. Debate was a breeding pool for top-tier college candidates.

Standing up from the booth and giving her a hug, he answered, “Uh, nope.” He smiled at her sheepishly. He kissed Obi-Wan on the cheek and allowed him to slide into the booth first. 

That answer wasn’t really true. The list he had made with Mr. Windu on Monday had solidified his decision. He was going to Kamino, and it was really just a question of getting his father to agree. He hadn’t told them much about his college plans, so they were in the dark about even Kamino, beyond the vaguest statement that he enlist in the army.

“You’ve got time,” Obi-Wan said reassuringly. “You’ve got the whole of April.”

“Yeah.”

In this little diner that was a few streets from Cody’s shitty neighborhood and many streets away from his friends’, you could tell that Padmé came from old money, and that Obi-Wan came from a good home. His jeans were new, her hair put up in an elaborate style. They both had impeccable table manners. Cody found himself shifting his elbows off the table.

“I, uh,” he started, drawing their attention. “I actually have decided. I… I’m not going to a traditional college.”

That intrigued them, he could tell. They associated with and were a part of the prep school-four year college pipeline, so anyone who deviated from it was immediately of interest. “So what are you doing?” Obi-Wan asked.

“I got into Kamino last week,” he admitted, and it felt good to say that. Despite fearing his father’s disappointment, he was proud of himself for getting in. “I’m going to talk to my dad soon, because he wants me to go to Concord Dawn. I’m going to try to convince him to let me go away from Mandalore.”

Padmé leaned back in her seat. Cody could almost see the gears of her mind spinning as she restrained the urge to go “hmm”. Obi-Wan “hmm”ed next to him.

“So, the army,” his boyfriend said, all too casually. When Cody looked at him, Obi-Wan was tracing circles on the table surface. Padmé watched the two of them with sharp eyes.

“Yeah,” Cody replied nonchalantly, trying to determine Obi-Wan’s feelings. “Kamino’s been a dream for me for years.”

“You never mentioned it.” There was a thread of hurt in his voice.  _ We’ve been friends for years _ , went unsaid. Padmé tactfully looked out the window, but there was nothing out there for her to look at.

“I never thought it could happen.”

Obi-Wan nodded and refused to meet his gaze. “So… when you go to Kamino and join the army, what happens to us?”

“Oh,” Cody said, very small. He hadn’t considered that. Their relationship was very new, but they both liked how it was going. At Kamino, he would only be able to receive letters. Once he graduated from Kamino, he would only be able to receive letters. Who knew how long he would be in the army? “I don’t know.”

Obi-Wan shifted away from him, just minutely, but Cody felt as though a massive rift had opened between them with the small movement. “Okay.”

“We’ll figure it out,” he promised desperately, feeling the situation begin to slip away from him.

Padmé was watching them with sadness in her eyes. When he met her gaze, she smiled softly, and Cody knew that she thought this wasn’t going to end well.

“Okay,” Obi-Wan repeated hesitantly.

What should have been a fun dinner with two of his closest friends devolved into an awkward and silent meal. Cody felt as though a church bell was ringing over them, signaling the end of something that had barely begun. They ate, paid their checks, and wandered out to the parking lot.

“See you at states?” Obi-Wan offered.

“That’s in a month,” Cody said, surprised. “We should meet up again before then.”

“We’ll see you at states,” Padmé confirmed, like he hadn’t said anything. She laid a hand on his arm. “Bye, Cody.”

Obi-Wan echoed, “Bye,” and they began walking away from him. Cody watched them go. He wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do, but he was sure that he was doing the wrong thing right now.

He got into his car and drove home wondering what he should have done.

* * *

Rex threw a leash onto Cody’s desk, covering his physics homework. “Stop moping and help me walk Waxer and Boil.”

“I was studying,” he protested, but he picked up the leash and exited their shared bedroom.

Rex shot him a look that said  _ sure, vod _ as sarcastically as if the words had physically come out of his mouth. Downstairs, Fives was sprawled on the couch in front of the TV. Echo and Boba were hunched over a geometry book on the dining table, the former patiently explaining a problem to the latter.

“We’re going to walk the dogs,” Rex announced.

“Get out of here already,” Fives called from the couch. 

Boil and Waxer were crowding the hallway in front of the door. On seeing Rex and Cody, they started barking loudly. “Okay, boys, we’re coming.” Rex leashed Waxer first, because he was more inclined to stay still, and Boil next, because once Waxer did something Boil was quick to follow. He handed off Boil’s leash to Cody, and they left the house.

“So what’s wrong now?” Rex asked.

“A lot of things,” Cody grumbled.

“Come on. Be more specific.”

Cody pursed his lips and watched Boil sniff the trunk of a tree. Rex and Waxer, ten steps ahead, waited patiently for the both of them. “I don’t know how to tell Dad that I don’t want to go to Concord Dawn,” he said finally. Boil finished sniffing the tree trunk and dashed over to Waxer’s side, pulling Cody along.

When he had first started the application process, Rex had been the one encouraging him to fight Jango for permission to apply to Kamino. His brother knew how much this meant to him, and also how much their father’s approval meant to him. They had crossed one bridge only to arrive at another just like it.

“That can’t be all that’s bothering you,” Rex said after a moment. Cody belatedly realized that he had been expected to say something else. “You knew this might happen again.”

“You’re right, that’s not all,” he said hesitantly. They stopped outside their neighbor’s house, and the little girl who lived there, Numa, came flying down the steps. She shrieked delightedly and flung her arms around Waxer.

“Hey there, Numa,” Rex greeted her.

“Hi, Rex!” she said cheerfully, moving on to Boil. “Hi, Cody!”

“Hi, Numa.” Cody watched her scratch the place behind Boil’s ear that he really liked. That coaxed a good tongue licking out of the big dog, and she laughed happily.

“You look sad, Cody,” she said. “Why are you sad?”

“Well,” he started, and stopped. Rex motioned for him to get on with it. “I think my boyfriend is angry with me.”

Rex’s eyebrows flew up. Cody hadn’t mentioned anything to him about what had happened at the diner, attempting to process it by himself.

“Why?” Numa asked again.

“I didn’t tell him that I wanted to go into the military,” he explained. “And when I go, we’ll only be able to communicate through letters. We might not see each other for a really long time, which makes being in a relationship hard.”

“Letters alone do not a long-distance relationship make,” Rex said in his most cryptic voice, like he was that weird debate coach from Temple who insisted on speaking with reverse grammar.

“Why didn’t you tell him before?” Numa questioned. Waxer headbutted her gently, and she gave him some head scratches too.

“Going into the military isn’t really a popular thing for him and his friends. I was afraid that he’d think badly of me.”

“If he thinks bad about you, then he’s not a good boyfriend,” Numa said gravely. Cody was finding it hard to take her seriously, but she was right. “But you didn’t give him a chance to think good or bad about you. And I’d be mad too, if my boyfriend wanted to go away and I wouldn’t see him for a long time and he didn’t tell me about it.”

Cody blinked, a little taken aback.

“Numa!” her father called from inside the house. “Dinnertime!”

“Okay!” Numa leapt to her feet and petted their dogs one last time. “Bye Boil. Bye Waxer.” Then, surprising Cody, she leaped forward and hugged him. “It’s gonna be okay, Cody.”

They watched her run back inside.

“She’s right, you know,” Rex said. “You assumed Obi-Wan would judge you, so you didn’t give him a chance.” They continued walking down the sidewalk. Silence stretched between them again as Rex collected his thoughts, and Cody knew he wasn’t meant to say anything right now. 

“You have so much fear,” his brother continued. “It traps you. With Dad, you’re afraid to be a disappointment, so you just follow the path he wants without thinking about yourself. With Obi-Wan, you’re afraid of his judgment, so you don’t communicate with him. In the end, that might cost you your relationship.” 

Rex left that to marinate. His words hung heavy in the air as Cody considered them. After a long while, Cody said, “I should apologize to Obi-Wan for not trusting him.”

“That’s one problem solved. What about Dad?”

Cody thought about it for another long while. In the interim, they rounded back to their street. Rex paused in front of the house, and they stared up at it together. Waxer and Boil settled down patiently at their feet.

“I think,” Cody said slowly, “that I should stop letting my fear of failure keep controlling me. I’m so scared by the prospect of failing to convince Dad that I protect myself from any fallout by refusing to even make an attempt. I just… I just need to try.”

Rex unlocked the front door and allowed the dogs to bound into the house before them. “There you go. Just try.”

“I will,” Cody promised, and meant it.

* * *

Cody rarely had reason to visit Coruscant Academy, but the extravagances of the campus struck him every time: the lighted fountain that glowed red and blue at night, the giant bronze school seal underneath the entrance gate with the school motto engraved on it, the views of Coruscant City from the balconies. It made him feel out of place. Mandalore Prep was an independent prep school, yeah, but it was old, and this place was very new. Cody would confidently bet that Coruscant kids had wiring in the ceiling that was compatible with AC and that the walls of their weight room didn’t swell outwards because of leaking pipes. He knew where his tuition money went, and it wasn’t to lighted fountains. It was to the sinks that wouldn’t turn on.

He rolled his shoulders back, trying to relax in this place that felt so unfamiliar and discomfiting, and leaned against his car. The bell rang. Students began to flow out, so he scanned the crowd for Obi-Wan. Mandalore ended two hours earlier than Coruscant on Fridays. Driving over, he had had plenty of time to think over (overthink) what exactly he wanted to say.

Finally, he spotted a flash of auburn hair in the crowd, and he tried to peer around the students blocking his view. When the crowd parted, he saw Obi-Wan talking avidly to Padmé while facing away from him.

Padmé spotted Cody first. He waved to her awkwardly. She said something to Obi-Wan and turned him around by his elbow. When Obi-Wan recognized him, his expression turned to surprise first, then resolve. While Cody was puzzling out what he was resolved to do, Obi-Wan closed the distance between them.

Cody pushed off his car so that he was standing upright. They stood gaping at each other. Other Coruscant kids flowed around them as if they weren’t even there.

“I-” Obi-Wan started.

“I-” Cody began, at the same time. They stood silently while students conversing loudly passed by.

“You go first,” Obi-Wan prompted.

“Okay.” Cody shoved his hands into his pockets and forced himself to look Obi-Wan in the eye. “I didn’t tell you about Kamino earlier because I thought you would judge me, and that wasn’t fair to you. I’m sorry for not trusting you. And I understand that military relationships are hard, but if you’re willing… I want to try to make it work with you.” When he finished, he let his eyes slip downwards.

“I’m sorry if I ever gave off the impression that you couldn’t trust me,” Obi-Wan said. He reached out and raised Cody’s chin so that they were making eye contact again. Cody leaned into the touch. “I think that going into the military, while not my path, is honorable and courageous, and I admire you for choosing it. And even though it might be hard, I’m also willing to try to make our relationship work after high school.”

Cody’s mouth stretched into a smile to match the slowly growing one on Obi-Wan’s face. Hope and exuberance were soaring through him, lifting him up and promising him amazing things. He leaned forward, wrapped his arms around Obi-Wan’s waist, and set his forehead on his boyfriend’s shoulder. 

* * *

It was a beautiful Saturday morning, and Jango was out back in the garden. Cody watched from the kitchen door, trying to brace himself for the upcoming conversation. He inhaled deeply, exhaled long, and pushed open the back door.

“Hey, Dad,” he said.

His father looked up at him briefly and then back down at the plants. “Oh, Cody! Good. When I’m done out here, I need you to log into your Concord Dawn portal so I can put down the deposit for committing. How much is it? Five hundred?”

“Dad.” Cody waited for Jango to look at him again. His father’s gaze was questioning and clearly unaware of what was coming next. It was a  _ what now, you should already know my plans for you _ kind of gaze. “I’m going to decline my admissions offer from Concord Dawn.”

“What?” his father demanded, rising to his feet. He strode over to where Cody stood, stopped directly in front of him, and grasped his shoulders. “Tell me this is a joke. Tell me one of your brothers put you up to this.” When Cody said nothing, his grip relaxed and he laughed, a little nervously. “That’s a good joke, son. Come on, let’s go pay the deposit now.” Jango began tugging him to the door, but Cody pulled his arm from his father’s grasp.

“Dad, I’m serious. I don’t want to go to Concord Dawn.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” his father scoffed. “This is your dream. Don’t throw it away.”  
“No, Concord Dawn is _your_ dream,” Cody corrected. “It’s not mine.”

His father’s jaw worked, and then realization passed over his features. “Look, if this is about finances, I can cover it,” he said defensively. “We can talk to the financial aid office and we can take out loans. I can pay for a good education for you. You don’t have to be self-sacrificing.”

“It’s not the finances. I don’t want this for myself.” Cody searched his father’s eyes, trying to make him understand. “When I first asked you for permission to apply to Kamino, I was serious. It wasn’t some throwaway application for me. I want to join the GAR, I want to become an officer, and Kamino is the way for me to do that.”

Jango spun away from him and walked to the edge of the patio, where concrete gave way to grass. “We still have time,” he said, voice strangled. “I can arrange for a day off and we can go visit Concord Dawn again. It’s a great school. I’m sure that when we visit you’ll end up loving it.”

“Are you listening to what I’m saying?” Cody demanded. “Dad, I know you have this dream for me and that it includes Concord Dawn. But this is my life, and at some point you have to let me choose for myself!” His father was still turned away from him and was now shaking his head disbelievingly. Cody realized that he had been shouting and took a deep breath. Maybe it was time to list off the advantages of Kamino. “Look, the GAR will cover my schooling expenses, so we won’t have to take out loans. I can get a BS in mechanical engineering so that when I leave the army, I’ll be able to find work. And I can serve the Republic in the most honorable way I know how.”

“I can see you’ve thought about this.” Jango’s voice was as cold as ice and as sharp as a knife. “You never planned on going to Concord Dawn.”  
“I could never make myself love it the way you do,” Cody told his father’s back. “We went to three information sessions and took two tours and I couldn’t make myself love it.”

“Try one more time,” Jango pleaded, turning back around. “Give it one more chance.”

Cody shook his head. “I’m going to commit to Kamino today, no matter what you say. I know you’re disappointed, and I’m sorry that you are, but you can’t change my mind.” He walked over to the door, but his father remained where he was standing. Cody looked at him one more time, hoping against hope, and reentered the house.

His brothers were all seated on the couch. The TV was playing, but no one was watching. On his entrance, Fives, Echo, and Boba snapped their attention back to the TV. Rex raised his eyebrows to ask how it had gone, unashamed of having watched the conversation through the door. Cody shook his head, a minute movement, and went up to their bedroom. A few moments after he closed the door, it opened again and Rex came inside.

“I’m sorry,” his brother offered.

Cody shook his head a second time. He was afraid that if he tried to say anything, he would start crying.

“He’ll get over it.” Rex placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “It’s all gonna work out.”

He wondered how his brother could be so confident about this. It must have shown on his face, because Rex looked concerned. “Vod, I honestly believe what I’m saying. Dad’s gonna get over it, and we’re all gonna come out of this okay.”

Cody nodded to convince himself that would be the case. Then, resolved to carry through with his words, he logged into his Kamino portal to accept his offer of admission.

* * *

THREE WEEKS LATER

The day- no, the weekend- had been very long. The state tournament had started early and ended late, driving everyone involved to emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion. The awards ceremony had ended after 8 PM, and even though they had driven straight back, the drive had still taken a good 3 hours. All Cody wanted at this point was something to fill his stomach besides the burrito he had split with Rex and then to sleep in his own bed.

There were less than fifteen minutes until midnight, but the lights were still on in the house. He could hear barking inside, and despite the noise complaints they would definitely receive from their neighbors tomorrow, he smiled. He was barely able to unlock the door and prop it open before Boil and Waxer bounded out and almost knocked him and Rex over. 

“Cody and Rex are here!” Boba yelled.

“Yup, we finally made it,” Cody laughed, wiping the dog slobber of his sleeve, and stood up straight. When he saw what his youngest brother was wearing, he froze.

“Do you like it, Cody?” Boba asked. He was grinning from ear to ear. “They came yesterday but you weren’t here, so Dad said we should wear them when you got back!”

Echo and Fives appeared behind him, also wearing the same thing, and Cody’s mouth dropped open in utter disbelief. Then their dad moved into view.

Cody had never been so shocked in his entire life. Jango moved forward, in front of his brothers, and held out one of the black long-sleeved shirts the four of them were wearing. With trembling hands, Cody accepted it.

In big gold letters was printed “ARMY”, with “KAMINO” in a smaller font and the helmet of the Army Knights below it. 

Cody threw his arms around his dad and hugged him tightly.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I know that two of the sections seem to contradict each other - where Cody complains about the well-off kids from Mandalore, then talks about the extravagances of Coruscant Academy. I don't think these two things are mutually exclusive. Class differences exist within and without private high schools. Compare the endowments of Andover High School ($1bUSD) and Notre Dame High School Belmont ($12mUSD in 2011, probably $20m now). These are just two random examples on different ends of the spectrum. Those differences probably affect facilities. Sorry if I seem lecturing or defensive, I'm trying to justify myself.
> 
> Also I may or may not have totally modeled University of Coruscant after Georgetown.
> 
> The next fic in the series will be about the state tournament, which is briefly mentioned here! I'm trying to decide how I want to write it and what I want to write it about.


End file.
